Monthly Archives: April 2011

Brouillard et Lumière: Thomas Fersen

  • Posted on 10/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Bloodsuckers, ghosts, werewolves, witches, an Egyptian mummy and a pirate named Bluebeard: the new, eighth album by acclaimed Parisian singer/ songwriter Thomas Fersen is all about magic realism, and much less scary than the assembled nightmare characters suggest at first sight. In fact, Comte Dracula here features as a romantic fool, and the song also tells the story of „une fille dont le sourire pointu est plus cruel que celui de Nosferatu“. Full of rich imagery, laid-back irony, twisted tendresse and mature melancholy, Je Suis au Paradis might be Fersen’s most accomplished work since 1997’s Le Jour de Poisson. The after-hours frisson of Paradis teaches a simple, but effective lesson: You can’t have light without a darkness to illuminate.

Thomas Fersen – Dracula

Bonus: From the fine A Boris Vian compilation, Fersen’s heartbreaking rendition of Barcelone.

Thomas Fersen – Barcelone

FS Rerun: Radiah Frye

  • Posted on 09/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

When tormented Italian-French superstar Nino Ferrer met lovely Afro-American model, dancer, and singer Radiah Frye, he probably fell head over heels in love. On his 1966 single Je veux etre noir, Nino had already declared that he wanted to be black, and now he had a perfect companion to funk up his groove – exactly what he did on Nino and Radiah et Le Sud in 1974, a fine album with an even finer cover on which Radiah exposed her impeccable body to the public.

Before she pursued a brief career as an actress in Spermula, Madame Claude, and Goodbye Emmanuelle, Radiah uncovered herself on a record sleeve playmate-style again. Her hard-to-get solo 7“ Play-boy Scout (1975) features a strikingly sexy babefunk version of Nino’s Italian garage rock shouter from his 1970 album Rats and Roll’s.

Radiah is still around, but few people know where. Sadly, her MySpace page hasn’t been updated for ages, and her website has vanished from the web.

Nino and Radiah et Le Sud – Mint julep

Nino Ferrer – Je veux être noir

La Grande Sophie – Je veux être noir

Radiah – Play-boy Scout

Nino Ferrer – Playboy Scout

Pop Bâtard XVI: Never Mind, Serge

  • Posted on 09/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Tom Haggen – despite the English name quite obviously a Frenchman – is relatively new to the Gallic mash-up scene. His sexy blogsite presents some pretty entertaining fusion experiments, among them an extravagant amalgam of Serge’s ironic 1966 yéyé classic Qui est in, qui est out and … well, the chords (F5–B♭5–A♭5–D♭5)  that changed the world for a few minutes 20 years ago – Teen Spirit being the anti-perspirant that Kurt’s then-girlfriend, Tobi Vail, used to wear at the time. Kurt always claimed that he had had no idea the brand even existed; so better check your spouse’s handbag before sloganizing the revolution.

Tom Haggen – Smells Like t’IN!!! Spir’OUT!!!

ZAZ

  • Posted on 05/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

A limited special edition of ZAZ’s debut album was released, with four extra live-tracks. Two acoustic versions of her own songs, and two covers. One by Gainsbourg (a better version then this one) and one by Carlos Almaran. This Panamian songwriter is the father of Historia de un Amor,a song that was covered many, many times. I love what ZAZ did with both tunes. See a video of Z singing Ces Petits Riens here, and her singing Historia…. here.

Zaz – Ces petits riens
Zaz – Un historia de un amor

Jerome van den Hole featuring Camille

  • Posted on 05/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

YES! Camille is back, AND she sings in French! She duets with Jerome van den Hole on his upcoming debut-album. VDH first single was kinda nice (video) but this track with Camille is of the same quality as that brilliant track with Raul Paz (this one). Van den Hole, he says his  name is the same of a Dutch sprinter, recorded his album with Philippe Zdar (of Cassius-fame, he also produced Phoenix). He states he likes NTM as much as Kings of Leon, and apparently loves heavy, heavy piano on his songs. Have not heard his album yet, but this could be something special.

Jerome van den Hole + Camille – Debout

Bourgeois vs Bashung

  • Posted on 04/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

French filles singing songs about girls, to empower women. That’s what Paroles de Femmes is all about, the album featuring Claire Keim, Natasha St Pier, Shy’m and Amel Bent was released on March 8. International Women’s Day, of course. The songs are covers by Brel, Obispo, Becaud and Christophe. Hate to say this, especially with championed girls like Claire Keim and Nolwenn Leroy on board, but most covers are a bit dull. One that stands out in a good way is Amandine Bourgeois’ version of Bashungs slide-fest Osez Jospehine. Amandine (pictured) chose to  leave the slide-guitar out, very brave. To compare, a live version by the grand master himself (RIP), who adds a little Dylan.

Amandine Bourgeois – Osez Josephine
Bashung – Osez Josephine (live)

Otarie

  • Posted on 04/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Guestpost! Natasha on Canadian duo Otarie: ‘They are like leather pants: sensual, supple, smelly and sexy.’

Although they’ve played big festivals like Francofolies and keep gigging in all kinds of local places in their native Montréal, Québec duo Otarie (a reference to a baby seal, or ‘bébé phoque’ in French) has been around since 2006. They are still considered part of the alternative scene not for their simplistic sound, but because of their lyrics, which are explicitly fun with a hint of gay bitchiness, especially when they slam local has-beens, all in quality Québécois slang.

Canine Sutto, the guy (Janine Sutto was an actress, think gay stage name) and Gaétane Montana, the lovely red head, say they’re just friends and share the same taste in dirty lyrics. They mix all kinds of styles (and different positions) and use words you’ll have to Google like ‘plotte’ (‘muff’), ‘poche’ (‘scrotum’), ‘graine’ (‘dick’) and ‘foune’ (‘ass’).

The puns fly very low in songs like ‘Kuni Kuni’ and ‘Au Camp Trois Pinis’, titles that don’t need translation and ‘Spourrer’, a loving song about ‘spooning and screwing’. Students love Otarie’s in your face-ness and just like jerking off, other people either like it too or just lie about it.

If you like it fast:  Otarie – Horny
If you like it slow: Otarie – Dans mon lit

Lanu

  • Posted on 02/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Roxy Music’s 1982 hit single More Than This easily qualifies as one of the most oily ballads of the New Wave, and the greasy karaoke performance by Bill Murray in Lost in Translation just served to prove the old Marx statement that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. On his brand new album Her 12 Faces – a perfectly laid-back, positively eclectic and estival record with awesome guest singer Megan Washington on several tracks –, Australian pop entrepreneur Lance Ferguson alias Lanu does the trick: He transforms Roxy’s bathos into French-language electro tune raffinement – a jolie Gallic dot on an otherwise all-English, highly innovative early summer album.

Lanu – More Than This

Gorgeous hommage to Lanu’s grandfather, famous Hawaiian steel guitarist Bill Wolfgramm who recorded New Zealand’s first ever LP record back in 1956:

Lanu – The Coral Route

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